Judgement of Eternity
by SonofJones
Summary: As her life faded away, she found herself on the edge of the underworld. But her greatest fear in dying wasn't death itself, but of what would no doubt be awaiting her beyond death, as she found herself forced to face her past mistakes. Spoilers for The Last Olympian.


"Charlie… See Charlie…"

These were the last words the daughter of Aphrodite spoke on the mortal plain. As the poison took from her the last bit of life, she looked up towards the sky above, feeling her body get weak to the point where all she could do was slump backwards completely. She sensed her friends crying around her as she felt her spirit lift upwards out of her body, being released like a balloon as it rose higher and higher towards the heavens. She felt the type of freedom Icarus must have felt before his demise, rushing upwards towards the sun as it grew brighter and brighter. The searing pain of the poison was gone, all sense of physical limitations severed. Finally the light became blinding, and her consciousness became a white oblivion.

When the blinding light faded, Silena found herself in a place she had never been, yet she knew of all too well; She was in DOA recording studios, the entrance to the Underworld.

Percy had once told her about this place, and what it was like. She could see now he didn't exaggerate how, for lack of a better phrase, dead it felt: the leather furniture black as stygian iron: the pencil cacti; and of course, the souls that occupied the room. They all looked so sad, and Silena knew why; they were unable to pay Charon, and so they were forced to stay in this lobby hoping that one day someone would come along that could pay their way, or until Charon decided to let them pass for whatever reason.

"Hey, you!" A strange voice called out. Silena instinctively looked towards the head desk and saw Charon himself, looking just as Percy described him: dark skinned, wearing tortoiseshell sunglasses and an Italian suit that looked like his bleached blond hair. He nodded at Silena, adding impatiently, "Yeah, you. You coming or not?"

"Um, I..." Silena stammered, finding herself at a loss of words. This was partially due to the shock of all this settling in. She was dead… dead. Here she was, standing amongst other spirits whose lives had come to an end.

But more than that, it was what was at the forefront of her mind: her resting place. She had betrayed her friends, betrayed the Gods, and was a spy for the Titans, and because of her, Charlie was now dead. She had heard of only a handful of the horrors that awaited the condemned in the Fields of Punishment, how Hades customized punishments for the wicked. And after what she had done, what else could anyone call her besides wicked? What terrible punishment would be waiting for her on the other side of the judgment pavilion? And to make the thought even more dreadful was the knowledge that whatever awaited her would be eternal. There would never be an end to it. Her entire universe would become nothing but pain and suffering, wailing in misery as she would regret her actions, and pay for them until the end of time.

She got so caught up in reflecting on this that she forgot to answer Charon, who sighed impatiently and demanded, "Look young lady, it's been a very busy day, I've had to work triple overtime all week, and I've got a nearly full boat waiting. So, if you're coming, then would ya please hurry it up already?"

Silena reached into the purse concealed beneath her armor. For the past year at camp, it had become customary to carry concealed purses containing a couple drachmas on missions in case they died, so that they could be prepared to move onto the afterlife. She then looked around her, observing the spirits that were forced to stay here. Perhaps it would be better just to give one of them her drachmas and let them go with Charon, rather than face judgment herself. Next to the fear of what might await her, staying in this lobby for eternity sounded preferable. But she knew she couldn't do that, as though somehow she was entitled to skip judgment. That would be a cowardly thing to do, and would go against everything heroes were supposed to stand for. Besides, deep down, she also knew that in time staying here would become an even worse punishment than whatever awaited her in the Underworld.

Silena sighed, reaching beneath her armor and untying the purse, pulling out the small sack. She forced back a lump in her throat as she looked up at Charon and approached the desk. Her legs wobbled terribly as she reached the ferry man, opening the sack and dumping the drachmas onto the desk. Charon picked them up, examining them momentarily. He smiled a bit, apparently satisfied, then motioned towards the elevator, "Excellent. Right this way, young lady."

As Charon motioned his hand, the elevator door opened, revealing the elevator full of spirits. Without any thought or conscious decision, Silena found herself moving towards the door, entering as Charon followed, closing the door behind them. The door closed shut with a strangely powerful and ominous thud, as if a tomb were being closed. The elevator then began to descend downwards. Silena looked around, and to her sadness recognized some of her fellow passengers. There was a 13-year-old Apollo camper named Carl, who was always a sweet and talented boy. There was Lily Fellows, a Demeter camper who had graduated high school that may. She was going to go to NYU in the fall to become an agriculture major. There was Julian Reynolds, a 17-year-old Athena Camper who was going to be an author. There was another teenage girl she recognized from archery lessons who was one of the few unclaimed demigods left at Camp Half-blood.

As Silena reflected on all these lost souls, she suddenly realized the elevator was no longer moving down, but forward. Then she realized they were no longer in an elevator but a boat. Also, they were all now robed, and behind all them was Charon, his head now transparent to show off his skull as he too was now in a robe, pushing the boat forward. She looked over the edge of the boat and saw the nightmarish black water of the River Styx, polluted by a huge variety of objects. Broken toys, framed pictures, tools of work. She then saw new items appear in the river, a bottle of perfume that she had never seen before, a wedding ring, and the most shocking of all, a framed picture of herself and Charlie, a decade or so older, on their wedding day, and she suddenly realized what was happening. She was leaving behind in the Styx all of her hopes and dreams, all the things she hoped would come to be.

The boat reached the rocky surf, and Silena looked forward and saw a green fog in the air, hanging over the land like poison. Everyone began to disembark and Silena sighed heavily as she marched with everyone else, moving further towards the inevitable.

They marched up a path for a while, until Silena saw the most gigantic hellhound ever. He stood so tall that spirits could pass right underneath his belly without having to worry about ducking. She knew it was Cerberus, the guard of the Underworld. Where he stood, the path broke off into three. Two moved around the hellhound and were marked "Attendant on Duty", and the third (which passed right under him) was marked "E Z Death". It was obviously written to be very dyslexia friendly, which Silena appreciated. As she approached where the path broke off, a skeleton attendant approached her, saying, "Ms. Beauregard, right this way please."

He motioned towards the left path, which was moving considerably slower than the E Z Death line, though none of the lines were moving particularly fast. After all, with how many people have been dying this week, it shouldn't be surprising how overflowing the Underworld was with new dead souls.

Silena did as the attendant said, and went off on the left path. The line crawled around Cerberus, but she paid no attention to time passing, as her mind was focused completely on the fact that she had been specially picked out to be judged. Granted, she saw all of her fellow demigods were also picked out for judgment, but there was one major difference between them and her; they were all getting picked for Elysium, and she wasn't.

As the line moved on, she looked northwestward, and saw the crest surrounding the Fields of Punishment. Smoke rose from the fields, and even from here, what must have been miles away, all the terrible, blood curdling screams could be heard; the moans and wails of the damned as they labored through the punishments. If Silena wasn't a spirit, she would've broken out in a massive sweat, as she could already feel herself amongst them, immersed in damnation as she suffered eternal punishment.

Finally, they reached the edge of the Judgment Pavilion, and she saw Carl being led out, no doubt towards Elysium. She entered the Pavilion, and saw before her a stone table, behind which sat three spirits. Silena recognized them as William Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson and Frederick Douglas. Shakespeare sat in the middle, Jefferson to the left of him and Douglas to the right, which was apparently a good idea since Silena could sense that Jefferson and Douglas didn't particularly like being in each other's presence. There was no seat for her, so she stood before the judges and nervously looked at them. Shakespeare sat forward, interlacing his fingers as he observed her carefully, saying, "Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, correct?"

His voice was fluid and articulate, his tone well-spoken. Just by listening to his single sentence, one could tell he was the master of the English language. Silena almost forgot her anxiety, and nodded uneasily. Next to Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson nodded, saying, "Yes, very well, shall we get on with it?"

The other two judges nodded, closing their eyes, reaching out their hands, closing their fists. Before Silena could wander what they were doing, she had a flash in her mind, and she could see what they were seeing.

_Her whole life was suddenly flashing before her eyes. _

_First she was a newborn baby on Olympus, being held by her mother. In the form she was choosing to take on, she had blonde hair like sunshine with chocolate brown eyes. _

_Then she was a small child, eating chocolates with her father in his shop after hours. He smiled as he let her have her pick of candy. They always tasted like cardboard, but as a little kid, she didn't really care, since it was candy, and it was bonding time with her dad. _

_Then she was 10 years old, on a school bus as she first saw a golden deer move through the woods____, along with a group of teen girls armed like hunters rushing through the trees_. But no one believed her when she told them what she saw. 

_Then she was 11 years old, and she was taken to Camp Half-Blood by a satyr named Hedge. The night she arrived at camp, she was claimed as a daughter of Aphrodite. _

_Then she was 13 years old, and she was spending time with an 18 year-old Luke. She had had a crush on him for a few months now, and would take whatever chance she could to spend time with him. _

_Then she was 14, and Luke had just left camp and joined the Titans' cause. One October day, he approached her, and explained to her that he wanted her help. He manipulated her into thinking that less people would die this way, and he was always so nice to her, she chose to believe him. _

_Then she was 15, and she discovered that Luke had poisoned Thalia's tree. She had been his spy for nearly a year now, keeping them abreast of the camp's doings. She contacted him, and told him she wanted out, but he threatened to expose her as a spy. She immediately became terrified of what would happen if they found out, and Luke promised her that no one she cared about would be harmed, and when she asked him to make sure Charlie didn't get hurt, he promised her he wouldn't. _

_Then she was 17, and she and Charlie admitted their feelings for each other, and they began dated. Later, during the Battle of the Labyrinth, the two fought alongside each other and made sure neither came to harm._

_ Then it was a few days ago, and she learned that Charlie had been killed blowing up the Princess Andromeda. She then found out it was because they knew he and Percy were coming, due to a spy at camp. Silena was devastated as she realized it was her fault he had to die. Technically, Charlie wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it, but he trusted her and he told her. She didn't want to tell Kronos, but he could sense she was hiding something, and once again threatened to expose her. She became hysterical, unable to bear the thought of Charlie finding out what she was, certain he'd never forgive her. Soshe told Kronos, and begged him to spare Charlie. He once again agreed that he would live. But then he died anyway, and it was all her fault. _

_Then she fought in the Battle of Manhattan, unleashing all of her pent up rage on the monsters attacking. Then she was at camp, trying to convince Clarisse to come back to fight. When she refused, she decided to steal her armor, and lead the other Ares campers to Manhattan to fight the Titan army. She faced down the mighty drakon, terrified as she tried in vain to rally the Ares campers against the monster. Then she was struck in the face with poison, and went down._

All of this flashed by vividly, yet as in a mere moment for them. Silena wobbled, barely able to keep standing as all of her past mistakes literally flashed before her eyes. The three judges sat back on their stools, looking towards each other. Then Frederick Douglas spoke, in a dignified and powerful voice, "Well, Miss Beauregard, there is no denying you've made some mistakes. Though, most have in their lives. You were led astray by someone who used your feelings towards him against you, then threatened you into continuing to serve him; all while you were pained to do his work. Furthermore, you always tried to make the right choice, fought bravely more than once for those you care about, and in the end made the ultimate sacrifice to help save Olympus. Therefore, I believe you have more than atoned for any ill deeds you were forced to do, and recommend to my fellow judges that you be granted admission to Elysium."

Silena looked up at him in utter shock. Douglas explained that her efforts inspired her surviving comrades, and contributed to Kronos's final defeat. She sighed with relief upon hearing this, feeling an immense weight lifted off her shoulders. Then she looked at the other two judges for their decisions. Thomas Jefferson sat forward, saying, "Oh, I disagree, Mr. Douglas."

Silena's smile faded, and she felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach as Douglas awaited Jefferson's explanation. He cleared his throat and elaborated, "I don't disagree that this girl was manipulated and used, but the right thing for her to have done would've been to come forward, and ask for forgiveness when she realized what the Titans were up to, not continue to keep quiet and pass along information."

"Under threat of exposure," Douglas reminded him, "And how can one judge her so harshly, when she knew full well that they would most likely, at best, outcast her and at worst, imprison and bring her before the Gods themselves, assuming no one at the camp decided her deed was deserving of death?"

Silena forced back another lump in her throat as she watched these two men debate the virtue of her soul, summing up her thoughts as though they read her mind (then again they had).

"Furthermore, did she not fight for both her camp and the Gods on two occasions, and give her life so that Olympus might preserve?" Douglas further inquired. Jefferson considered this, then responded, "She did. I will concede that, given Miss Beauregard's internal struggle and desire to do good, she may be deserving of residing in the Fields of Asphodel."

Silena looked towards the last judge, Shakespeare, desperation in her eyes. Surely he would recognize how much she wanted to do good, how much she tried. The great and wise Shakespeare, surely he would save her soul, right?

But then despair came over her, and she remembered that she didn't deserve to be saved. After all, Jefferson was right, she was just a traitor.

Shakespeare sat forward, taking a moment to carefully choose his next words, "Both of you fine gentlemen have made valid points. However, I cannot, in good conscious, condemn anyone who did foul deeds under duress and pain of almost certain death, either from her fellow demigods or the Gods themselves, to spend an eternity in torment for those deeds. Furthermore, she displayed deeds becoming of a hero, and paid with her life for it. Even for someone of French descent, this cannot be overlooked."

Silena suddenly remembered Shakespeare came from a time period of England where the French were very much looked down upon, so she didn't take personal offense at his last remark. Especially since it sounded like he was agreeing with Mr. Douglas. Hope filled her up like a balloon ready to pop.

"Therefore," Shakespeare finished, "I am inclined to agree with Mr. Douglas. I move for her to be granted admission to Elysium."

He then turned to his right and asked, "Now, Mr. Jefferson, will you concede, or shall we drag this trial out for hours through debate whilst you try in vain to persuade the two who outnumber you?"

Jefferson sat back, his interlaced fists brought to his chin as he went into deep thought, considering his colleagues' words. Finally, he sat forward, saying, "Perhaps initially I was too harsh in my decision. And my fellow judges speak truly, Miss Beauregard, you have indeed shown character becoming of a hero, and paid dearly in your life for any deeds you were forced to commit. Therefore, I will concede, and will, if my fellow judges feel it just, grant you admission into Elysium."

Silena broke out into a wide smile, covering her mouth with her hands as she let out a happy gasp. It was sinking in now what had just happened; that after all this worrying and anxiety, she was forgiven for her actions as a spy and would be rewarded for her actions as a hero. An attendant stepped into the pavilion as Shakespeare ordered, "If you would be so kind as to lead the young lady to Elysium."

The attendant nodded, taking Silena's hand and guiding her out. They went on a path that went downwards, leaving the crest surrounding the Fields of Punishment behind them. Silena could see that at the bottom of the path was a gated community filled with mansions, villas and castles from all periods of time. One look at the place, and Silena could barely contain herself from rushing down to it.

She reached the golden gate. This gate wasn't just painted yellow, Silena could tell it was made from pure gold. The attendant pulled out a key and opened the gate, saying, "Welcome to Elysium miss. Enjoy your eternal stay."

Silena smiled, nodding politely and entered into this new realm. As soon as she entered, the golden gate closed behind her, and it was as though she entered a new dimension. Looking behind her, on the other side of the gate was now a vast and green field, a light breeze flowing through the bars. Above her hung a beautiful, perfect blue sky. She smiled wide, taking in the transformation of her world, and admired her new home. Looking around, she saw the grass was made up of every pleasant color imaginable, with different patches being different shades of the colors that made up the rainbow. All the gardens in the front growing flowers of gold and silver. She could tell each house was very much personalized; there was a roman villa that had a helicopter pad on top and a chopper waiting on it, and there was a medieval castle with a moat of what appeared to be orange juice. She smiled, wandering for a moment where she was supposed to go, then suddenly realized where.

She ran down the street, coming to a crossroad. She saw that going forward would lead to a circle of houses surrounding a sparkling lake and to her left and right houses continued on till they began to circle around. Down the left street, a 20-something man was sitting in his yard, reading a book while sitting in a La-z-boy. She jogged down to him, calling out, "Excuse me sir?"

The man looked up from his book asking, "Yes?"

"Do you know where Char-" Silena caught herself, remembering what her boyfriend usually introduced himself as, "Where a guy who calls himself Beckendorf is?"

"That new guy Beckendorf? Really tall, muscular?"

Silena nodded, excited that he knew who she was talking about. The guy smiled, apparently affected by her excitement as he pointed down the road, "Just keep heading that way till you see a Victorian mansion with the mechanical statues of Hephaestus and Aphrodite in the front yard."

"Thanks!" Silena quickly showed appreciation before sprinting down the road as fast as she could, briefly glancing at the houses she passed by. She found in doing this that apparently she would never ran out of energy or stamina as a spirit, though even if she did she wouldn't stop probably. Finally she found on her left the house the man described. It was a gigantic Victorian mansion and in the front yard was a perfect golden sculpture of her mother, Aphrodite, as well as a bronze statue of Charlie's father, Hephaestus, wielding a big forge hammer and chisel. She saw that Aphrodite was holding a giant mirror, and smirked at that, knowing from personal experience her mother's mirror truly was that large. As soon as she stepped onto the lawn, the mirror immediately turned towards her, and at first Silena was surprised to find the reflection in her mirror.

While the Drakon poison had mutilated her face, in the afterlife it had apparently been healed. Her hair and make-up were now done as she always preferred to have them. She also was no longer wearing armor, but a pink t-shirt, jeans, and her sneakers that she loved to wear all the time till they wore out two summers ago; yet here they were, good as new.

Apparently, the Hephaestus statue also sensed her prescience, because the hammer began lightly tapping the chisel. Silena at first looked on in confusion at why it was doing this, but then suddenly realized what it was doing; it was letting Charlie know she had arrived.

Right on cue, the door to the house opened and out stepped Charlie. It was clear he had come from a forge from somewhere in the house, since he was dressed in a tank top covered in soot, and wearing protective goggles. He removed them and dropped them to the ground, smiling at her.

Silena felt herself tearing up as she saw him, standing so close to her once again. Instinctively, she sprinted across the lawn towards him. He saw her about ready to throw herself into his arms, and opened them up in preparation. However, right as she reached the steps, Silena suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as she remembered a terrible truth; he was only here because of her. Tears continued to stream down her face, but no longer were they tears of happiness and relief, but tears of regret and shame. Her smile faded, and she turned away from her beloved.

She felt Charlie's strong hands gently grip her arms, turning her back to him. She looked sadly up at him, crying more. He gently wiped the tears from her face and asked, his deep and booming voice now kind and soft, "What's wrong hun?"

"Charlie…" Silena choked back a sob, continuing with great effort, "The only reason you're here… is because of me…"

"That's not true," He assured her, pulling her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her to hug, "I'm here because I chose to give my life for something I believe in."

He stroked her hair softly, the way he knew always calmed her down, as she insisted, "If I hadn't turn spy then you wouldn't have had to."

"Nor would I have had to if Zeus had taken action sooner, or if we brought backup, or if I could turn into a duck and fly away," Charlie argued calmly, the last remark making Silena laugh despite everything. Charlie then lifted her chin to look at him as he said, "We can talk about ifs all day and night. What I care about are the facts, which is that you were tricked, and made a mistake, but you made up for it and proved yourself a hero. And hey, if the way things turned out for us means we get to spend an eternity together, I'm not gonna complain."

Silena smiled once more, and he smiled back. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. He picked her up, spinning around as they kissed, before setting her back down. She smiled up at him while he took her hand, excitedly taking her into the house, exclaiming, "Wait till you see this! The entire basement is a giant forge and workshop."

Walking inside, she immediately noticed that the house was empty. Her smile fading a bit, she inquired, "Where's everything?"

Charlie smiled, "Well, I figured I'd go ahead and leave it blank, so you could be free to decorate it however you'd like."

Silena smiled more, "How about we decorate it together?"

She held their interlocked fingers up as he nodded, "It's a date."

She smiled, going down to the basement to see what got Charlie so excited.

The two lived out their time in Elysium happily. Neither chose to be reincarnated to try for the Isles of the Blest, since they were perfectly content as they were. In time, they were reunited with their friends they left behind. They became next door neighbors to Percy and Annabeth who, despite having grown older, chose to appear as they did at the peak of their youths. They all lived peacefully in Elysium together.

It's ironic that so many heroes meet cruel and sad fates in lives, because in the afterlife, all true heroes get their happy endings.

* * *

Well there ya have it, my first (and probably not last) Silena/Beckendorf fic. I really tried my best here to create a story that would fit right in perfectly with the series, especially since i'm a huge fan. Hope everyone liked :) Anyways I went back and edited through the story to fix some grammar and format issues, so hopefully it's a better experience to read. Btw, please leave detailed reviews :) they're the stuff of ambrosia and nectar you know :b


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